By Zephyria Is it Mount Hua, or Namgung? (4)
In the afternoon, someone came to the Guest room.
It was Gang Woong.
“Young master Seong! I’ve been looking for you. You were here. I thought you had already left.”
He was glad that Seong Mu-yeon was no longer tied to a tree. But with a somewhat gloomy expression, Seong Mu-yeon asked.
“Gang Headmaster, what’s wrong?”
“……I heard you’re leaving for Namgung?”
“Yes?”
“Why? Is Mount Hua not good enough? Did Master Baek Ryeo-il bother you? You haven’t been here long! If you stay a little longer, you’ll definitely like Mount Hua. Please don’t go!”
Gang Woong pleaded as if he would grab his pants and hang on any minute.
“No, who told you that?”
“Master Baek Ryeo-il told me. That you would be leaving soon…….”
“I would?”
He explained to the boy that he still had time to decide. Then the boy’s face turned red.
“I was being presumptuous…….”
“It’s okay. But Master Baek Ryeo-il really said that?”
“Yes, so I thought you were definitely leaving.”
Seong Mu-yeon was dumbfounded. No wonder he was so coldly kicked out to the Guest room. It was as if he wanted him to leave for Namgung.
“Does anyone think I like sticking around!”
Seong Mu-yeon kicked the air in indignation. Then Gang Woong widened his eyes and shrank his shoulders.
Unable to contain his anger, Seong Mu-yeon threw open Namgung Cheon-chu’s door.
“Young master! If I go to Namgung, what will you give me? Let’s hear the conditions!”
Namgung Cheon-chu was delighted at those words. He sat Seong Mu-yeon down and began to list how good life would be in Namgung Clan.
“It can’t be compared to Mount Hua. If you live in a rural area like Hwaeum County and then go to Hefei, your eyes will pop out.”
“……Mount Hua has good air.”
Gang Woong mumbled from behind. He had inadvertently followed Seong Mu-yeon and was standing awkwardly in Namgung Cheon-chu’s room, not knowing what to do.
Namgung Cheon-chu glanced at Gang Woong for a moment, then continued without concern.
“And there are so many things to see? Since it’s a big city, if Young master wants anything, we can get it to you right away.”
“Mount Hua has good scenery too…….”
Gang Woong mumbled again. Eventually, Namgung Cheon-chu retorted in a low voice.
“But if you slip, you’ll say goodbye to this world.”
“…….”
Gang Woong didn’t seem to want to back down here.
“There are so many thugs in the city! What if you meet an evil sect on the street!”
“Hefei is safe as long as Namgung Clan protects it.”
“Those guys can’t even set foot in Mount Hua in the first place.”
“Of course. They’ll all roll down and die climbing this rugged mountain.”
“Mount Hua has……. Mount Hua has……!”
Gang Woong trembled. But he eventually closed his mouth, as if he couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Namgung Cheon-chu wore a victorious smile.
“What are you doing here?”
At that time, Ma Jin-cheon appeared. Seong Mu-yeon ran to him with a happy face.
“Mazincheon Headmaster! Is Headmaster giving me a tour of Mount Hua?”
Ma Jin-cheon laughed heartily.
“No. Not me, but this guy.”
Ma Jin-cheon put his hand behind the wall and pulled someone out. A huge man with a grip on his neck was dragged out from behind the wall. It was Baek Ryeo-il, looking very angry. He looked like he wouldn’t be satisfied until he chewed someone up.
“Ah, why me.”
“Then should I do it? The third-generation disciples haven’t been here long enough to know where anything is. But if I ask the second-generation disciples, they’re all busy raising their own disciples. You’re the only one in Mount Hua who’s free.”
“……Tch.”
Baek Ryeo-il glanced at Seong Mu-yeon and straightened his body.
“There’s not much to see, but if you really want to, I’ll show you around.”
“Do it properly!”
“Ah, I got it…….”
After Ma Jin-cheon warned him several times, he left with Gang Woong. Gang Woong kept looking back as if he couldn’t take his feet off the ground.
“Follow me.”
Seong Mu-yeon, Namgung Cheon-chu, and some of Namgung Clan followed Baek Ryeo-il.
Seong Mu-yeon glared fiercely at the back of Baek Ryeo-il’s head as he strode ahead.
It seemed to be true that he was trying to kick him out. He hadn’t even looked at Seong Mu-yeon since then.
‘I may be clinging to Mount Hua, but does that mean you can treat me like a piece of baggage?’
Seeing him act as if nothing had happened made him furious.
Baek Ryeo-il took them all over Mount Hua.
“This is the Central Hall.”
“This is the dining hall.”
“This is the Library.”
Seong Mu-yeon’s mouth dropped open.
‘Oh my god. This is the most boring tour ever.’
The guide had a dead fish eye expression throughout, and after a quick and concise explanation, he moved to another location without giving them time to look around.
Later, the young Namgung Clan warriors couldn’t stand it and left the group. In the end, only Seong Mu-yeon and Namgung Cheon-chu remained.
“This is the Training Hall, but you can’t just go in.”
Baek Ryeo-il led the two of them for a long time and stood in front of the door they had arrived at.
Then why did he come all the way here? Seong Mu-yeon’s desire to protest reached his throat. Before that, Namgung Cheon-chu muttered.
“Hmm, Mount Hua is nothing special.”
“What did you say?”
Baek Ryeo-il growled. But Namgung Cheon-chu didn’t even look at him and said to Seong Mu-yeon.
“Young master Seong, did you know that Anhui is full of all kinds of splendid sights? There are taverns, and every evening, performers perform tricks in the market.”
“I see.”
“And there are festivals on the Hwehwa River. The Lion Mask Dance performed on the river is a masterpiece.”
“Oh, really?”
Baek Ryeo-il squeezed himself between the two.
“Oh, I forgot one thing. The mountain scenery from the top of Wuntae Peak is spectacular.”
Then he pointed to the sky with his finger. Seong Mu-yeon raised his eyes to where his fingertip was pointing. Up……. Further up.
Only after tilting his neck completely could he see where he was pointing. Above the completely sheer cliff. As if mocking the question of whether a person could climb there, a few tombstones were faintly visible.
Seong Mu-yeon hesitated and took a few steps back.
“I, I’ll just look at it from here.”
“Where are you going?”
Before he could resist, Baek Ryeo-il slung him over his shoulder.
“Master Baek! Are you doing this again! I don’t want to see it!”
“Young master Namgung can climb up alone, right?”
Baek Ryeo-il neatly ignored his protests. Leaving Namgung Cheon-chu standing there with a blank face, he kicked off the ground and flew away.
Seong Mu-yeon widened his eyes as he watched the ground quickly receding. Baek Ryeo-il ran along the cliff as if it were flat ground. His stomach churned and his eyes closed tightly.
It was so high that if he fell from here, he would say goodbye without leaving a trace. Seong Mu-yeon desperately grabbed Baek Ryeo-il’s sleeve. This was the only lifeline that would save him.
“Please save me!”
“You won’t die.”
Baek Ryeo-il landed safely on the top of Wuntae Peak without even losing his breath.
“Ugh…….”
Even though his feet were on the ground, Seong Mu-yeon was shaking so much that he couldn’t stand properly. The floor was spinning in front of his eyes. Scenery or whatever, if he did this twice, he would die.
Baek Ryeo-il grabbed his shoulders and straightened him up.
“Now, look.”
Only then did Seong Mu-yeon raise his head. First of all, he felt a strong gust of wind roughly sweeping through his hair and clothes.
And the vast and magnificent landscape of the rocky mountains unfolded before his eyes.
“……Wow.”
The fear that had almost killed him a moment ago had completely disappeared, and he couldn’t take his eyes off the breathtaking scenery that made his heart feel like it was bursting open. He didn’t want to miss anything, from the clouds flowing gracefully to the clear air.
“Not bad, right?”
“It’s not just not bad……. It’s beautiful.”
He wouldn’t get tired of looking at it all day long.
At some point, Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes met Baek Ryeo-il’s, who was staring at him intently. He pouted for no reason.
“You should have shown me sooner.”
“I didn’t know you wanted to see it.”
Baek Ryeo-il stretched his legs over the cliff and sat down with a thud.
“You sit too.”
Baek Ryeo-il patted the seat next to him.
It was a cliff so high that Seong Mu-yeon’s heart was dizzy. When he glanced down, he could see the top of Namgung Cheon-chu’s head, who was fidgeting without knowing what to do.
“If I fall…….”
“Then I’ll catch you.”
“…….”
Seong Mu-yeon carefully sat next to him. But he never put his feet over the cliff.
The midday sunlight was shining down hotly.
“Headmaster, what would you like me to do? I can stay in Mount Hua or go to Namgung.”
“Why are you asking me that? It has nothing to do with me.”
Seong Mu-yeon narrowed his eyes.
“I heard everything? If you want me to follow Namgung, I’ll do that. I’m sorry for bothering you so far.”
Baek Ryeo-il frowned.
“What are you talking about? What did I do?”
“You told Headmaster Gang that I was leaving with Namgung, right? Does anyone think I liked sticking around? Geez. I’m speechless.”
“Then you can go.”
“Yes! I will go!”
“…….”
“…….”
An awkward silence flowed. The two of them silently looked at the distant mountains.